Mashek: It's J.J. Watt's world, and we're just livin' in it

Published 1:25 pm, Sunday, November 29, 2015

Defensive end J.J. Watt, of the Houston Texans, celebrates after a tackle for loss during the first quarter of an NFL game Sunday in Houston. Go to HCNpics.com to view more photos from the game.

Defensive end J.J. Watt, of the Houston Texans, celebrates after a tackle for loss during the first quarter of an NFL game Sunday in Houston. Go to HCNpics.com to view more photos from the game.

Mashek: It's J.J. Watt's world, and we're just livin' in it

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HOUSTON — Bill O’Brien and Brian Hoyer took their turns at the podium, before the assembled media in the bowels of NRG Stadium.

O’Brien was pretty much all business, after the Houston Texas brought the smack down on Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints, zapping the Saints to the tune of 24-6.

Hoyer was benched earlier this year for hothead Ryan Mallett, who pouted and overslept his way out of the NFL a few weeks ago. And Hoyer’s a team guy all the way, anyway. The Texans were once a 1-4 football team, and a couple weeks later, they were a 2-5 football team.

Now they’re jumping on their defense’s back and in contention for the AFC South title, which we pretty much expected in August and no doubt figured was a hallucination in October.

Hoyer was equal parts circumspect and engaging, careful with what he said but quick to share the credit. Which took some doing, considering he opened the game with 11 straight completions and hit on 21 of 27 passes for 205 yards and two touchdowns

“I think we just started playing better, really,” Hoyer said.

You don’t say. Thanks, Brian.

“I just think it was another really good team win,” O’Brien said. “I just told these guys that all three phases are contributing ... You can’t say enough about how our defense is playing.”

Yawn.

We aren’t privy to the REAL Texans quotes. Like the festive video that the Texans posted on Twitter, with a group dance in the middle of the locker room and O’Brien showin’ some deft moves and doing everything but teaching the guys how to Dougie.

Star defensive end J.J. Watt was in on the fun.

Shoot, J.J. Watt is everywhere.

In your living room, for sure. The next time I go to the HEB, I want J.J. and his pal Scott to check out my skills on the grill, and, as a bachelor, I want all the “fringe benefits” that come with it.

The world is Watt’s oyster, as evidenced by his two NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards, his megawatt smile (pun intended), his 1.32 million Twitter followers, his future in politics — or Hollywood, or on a game show; who knows, really — and his playful nature of give-and-take with the Fourth Estate.

After O’Brien and Hoyer finished answering questions, the TV barking dogs, reasonably intelligent radio folks and 20 to 30 astute sports scribblers settled in for the 20- to 30-minute wait for J.J. to make his entrance into the team auditorium.

(Running late for O’Brien’s presser, I tried to enter the first auditorium door while O’Brien was covering his bases. The friendly security officer told me to keep walking, and I slipped in through the back, something with which I’m more than familiar with from my undergraduate days at Western Kentucky University.)

I grew a little impatient, and asked houstontexans.com writer Deepi Sidhu how long it takes Mr. Watt to get out of the trainer’s room, and into his civvies for his media confab.

“Oh, it usually takes a while,” Sidhu said with a cheerful smile.

And it was totally worth it.

Watt exchanged good-natured barbs with a couple of grizzled vets, like myself, and handled my inquiry about Vince Wolfork, the longtime Patriots nose tackle and a Super Bowl champion last season, with ease. He talked about his two sacks, and his league-leading total of 13.5 sacks, in terms that paid tribute to guys like Wilfork and Brian Cushing and “back end guys” like Kareem Jackson and Quintin Demps.

I asked Watt if he got into Drew Brees’ head, because it sure looked like it from where I was seated at the top of the stadium.

“I don’t know,” Watt said with a smile. “You’d have to ask him, but that’s my job, so I hope so.”

Watt has a job and he does it exceptionally well. Texans owner Bob McNair was holding court after the game, and he said the Saints were “literally holding (Watt) every play ... he is so disruptive and plays so hard.”

Watt, the former Bucky Badger, was a little coy when asked about that one.

“(McNair) said it, not me,” Watt said. “He’s a smart man. He’s a very smart man. I would listen to what he says ...”

(Laughter.)

“I often do,” he added.

It’s come to the point that even O’Brien comes to the podium prepared with an anecdote or two. The Texans have lots of quality defenders, even if we’re still waiting on Jadeveon Clowney to live up to his potential as the No. 1 pick in the 2014 NFL draft.

“You know he’s a big part of what we do, obviously,” O’Brien said. “The guy is a great player. He’s got just a great motor, a skill set. He can change a game on any play and when he gets the crowd going and he makes a sack or bats a ball or he does something ...”

You get the picture.

It’s J.J. Watt’s world, and we’re just livin’ in it.

Courier sports editor Jim Mashek can be reached at jmashek@hcnonline.com or 936-521-3417.